Zuko's destiny- some things can't be mended
by tinttloo010102
Summary: Imagine Zuko DIDN'T help Azula. Was taken prisoner. Was left at the cruel mercy of his sister. Aang wasn't hit by lightning. And most of all, the Gaang didn't know about the eclipse...
1. After the battle

A note from the author: Hi (: This is my first Fan Fiction story hope you like it. Unlike most if you suggest a character I will make SURE I include it. Just mention it's: Gender, name, age, good/evil, personality, nation, bender/non bender. Please R&R. No swearing please. (: **_TIN._**

* * *

**_Disclaimer:_** I do not own avatar the last air bender. I own none of these characters except for those you guys made up. And I made up.

* * *

Chapter One: After the battle.

* * *

(This story takes place after the battle at BaSing-Sae. Zuko did NOT help Azula. The Gaang escaped unhurt. Aang did not get hit by Azula's lightning.)

* * *

Zuko struggled against the stones that held him to the ground. "It's useless, Zuzu." Says Azula, smirking. "Face it. You lost. And your honour?" Azula spat on the ground and rubbed it in with her black, shiny boot. She motions for one of her Di-Lee agents to release him from the floor. The unspeaking, green clad officer does so and Zuko stands, unsure what to do. Almost immediately Ty-Lee flips over his hands with a heavy metal chain in her own. She pulls it tightly together and all of a sudden jabs his arms. Hard. "Seriously!?" Exclaims Zuko. "You practically cut of the circulation in my arms and then you feel you also need to block my chi, too?!" Ty-Lee just grins and nods happily. "Oh and we're not done there, are we girls?" Says Azula. "Mai!" Mai flings a double blade at Zuko. It lands in between the chains, the tips just cutting Zuko's wrists. "You fire-bend and you die." Says Mai, showing no emotion in her voice or face. Like always. " Whatever you say, Madam Robot." Zuko mutters. Mai is suddenly there in front of him, a knife at his throat. "What did you say?" she practically spits at him, radiating with anger. "Nothing, nothing." He says quickly. "Good." She snarls. "And it better stay that way."


	2. Bolts of lightning

A note from the writer: Okay, sorry that that last one was **_SO _**short. Thanks for being patient and waiting for this one. (: R&R. XD **_TIN_**

Chapter Two- Bolts of lightning

"Zuko." Says a far of voice. Zuko looks around wildly. That was his Mother's voice. "Zuko." Says the person now standing in front of him. His Mum. "Mummy?" Replies Zuko. He starts to walk towards her. But suddenly his Mother's expression turns from joy to fear. "Zuko!" she screams. "Help me! Save me!" Zuko starts running towards his Mother. But suddenly Azula appears and cuts his Mum's throat with Zuko's favourite dagger. The one his Uncle, Iroh, had given him. "Too late, Zuzu." Says Azula in a mock sympathetic tone. "You could have saved her. And then Azula shoots an arc of lightning… right into his heart.

Zuko awakes from the nightmare, sweating and shivering. It's pitch black and he can't see anything. He goes to light a fire on the tips of his fingers. He finds the blades gone from his wrists. "Makes sense." Zuko mutters to himself. " If I rolled over onto my front whilst sleeping... Well, Azula doesn't want me dead. Yet."

And so Zuko rolls right onto his front and falls into a nightmarish sleep on the hard, cold metal.

A note from the writer: That was pretty short too, I guess. I find it hard to write REALLY long chapters but the good thing is I write (type) really quickly so you won't have to wait long for the next chapter. **_TIN._**


	3. Bring him to the gym

Chapter Three: Bring him to the gym

"Time to get up, sleeping beauty!" Says Azula's high, cold voice. Zuko blinks in the sudden light. He looks around. He was in a cell on a Fire-nation ship. "No time for sight-seeing, Zuzu." Says Azula "Get up, now!" and she shoots a jet of bright blue fire at him. The sharp burst singes his hair. 'What I wouldn't give to shoot some of my _OWN_ fire at her right now…' Thinks Zuko. He had woken up to find the blades back in their place. One of the Di-Lee agent yanks him up. "Ouch! Watch it, jerk!" Says Zuko as the blades dig into his wrists. Azula sighs heavily. "Mai!" She calls. A second later Mai enters, looking bored as ever. "Remove the knife." She says. "Try not to kill him. Although I won't be too upset if you do…" She is pure evil! Screams Zuko inside his head as the Robot stalks over to him. As Mai removes the sharp knife, Zuko sees the beautifully shiny black hair, the melty brown eyes… Aargh! He screams at himself. She is one of **_THEM_**! I do not like her! Do I?...

Soon the knife is gone and Mai has already padded of, proclaimng she was bored. "What are you going to do with him Azula?" Says the oh-so-bubbly Ty-Lee. " Your auravis pretty red and frizzly so you must be prety excited about something?"

"Oh, I'm excited." Says Azula wickedly, smiling like a maniac. Zuko winces. This wasgonna be bad. "Di-Lee! Take brother dear to the gym!" And Zuko's only thought was: 'Hang on... _**WHAT NOW?!**_

A note from the author: Wow, lots of …'S in that last chapter… Anyway, read on! R&R! (; LOLZ Question: Is frizzle even a word?


	4. Cold heart she has

A note from the author: That had to be the shortest yet! I'm goanna just keep them short, y'know? Go with the flow. Trying 2 name the chapters alphabetically but I did the last two both B. Sorry! {: TIN

Chapter four: Cold heart she has

"So, Zuzu, dear. THIS is the gym." Zuko's mouth drops open as he takes in the gym. It was basically the obstacle course of death! Swinging blades, wolf bats and even a wall of fire! 2Um.. wait…what?" says Zuko. "Listen up Zuko." Says Azula, a small smile on her pretty little face. "THIS is the gym. It's basically the obstacle course of doom and"

"That's what I was going to say! I'm DEAD!" interrupts Zuko.

" Don't interrupt me again or I will PERSONALLY melt your mouth shut!" roars Azula. "Now, as I was saying, brother **_dear_**, you have to make your way across the… gym, and at the end you will find a bowl of undercooked rice and some stale cactus juice. The juice will make you confused and disorientated for at least an hour but don't complain because it's all you're getting. Oh and you have to get back alive, of course." She finishes, smiling wickedly.

"Wow, Azula, I thought you had a heart of stone but yours is actually made of ice!" Says Ty-Lee, watching Zuko getting practically eaten by a swarm of wolf bats, repulsive creatures that have the body of a bat but a head of a wolf. "Trust me."Says Azula, venom dripping in her voice. "I've wanted to go to my darling brother's funeral for a long, long time…"


	5. Deadly experience

Chapter Four- Deadly experience

A note from the author: Yo. Word on the street is that Di-Lee is actually spelt Dai Li so yay. I'm just going to stick with Di-Lee to make things simple. Hey my font suddenly changed!-**_ TIN_**

'No!' thinks Zuko as a wolf- bat bites him on the back of the neck. 'I am not going to die. Not here. Not in front of Azula.' Zuko finds all the rage he's felt at Azula for all those years, bottled up inside his heart. The time she ripped up the only picture Zuko had of his Mum and burnt it to ashes… The time she beat him at fire-bending… Zuko feels himself growing hotter and hotter. The time Mum disappeared… With a roar, Zuko lit on fire, his whole body covered in white-hot sizzling flames. The wolf bats fly away in alarm, some unlucky ones fall to the floor, smoking.

Zuko runs forward and punches a hole in the swinging bean ball that he was supposed to run past. It had been the last obstacle so when Zuko got to the tray of food and juice, he let his fire sizzle out. He chugged down the cup of juice and then ate the rice. It was very hard and undercooked; some bits were even a little mouldy. But Zuko savoured every spoonful. That was, until Azula came over (marched is the right word) and kicked the tray across the floor. She grabbed Zuko and scratched her sharp nails across the scarred side of his face. He yelled out in pain. "What did I do!" he screams at Azula, clutching the side of his face.


	6. End of the voyage

Chapter 6- End of the voyage

A note from the author: Hi. Zuko has been imprisoned for a while. This is the seventh day. Yay this is the longest chapter so far!

Zuko sat in the pitch- black cell, shivering. Not just out of cold. It was the middle of the night and Azula had said they would reach the fire-nation in the morning. "You should be happy Zuko." She had said. "You are finally going home…" Zuko had explored every inch of the prison cell. It was in the bottom of the ship, below deck, the coldest, dampest place. His cell was a bowl shape. He stayed in the bottom. He couldn't climb up the metal sides which were five meters high. And to make things worse there was a very small leak in his cell, so he had to sit in a puddle of water that had collected on the prison floor. The one good thing was that the knife had been removed from his wrists. The chain was only attached to one hand now; the other end was welded to the metal of his prison, right at the top of the bowl. Azula liked to come over and taunt him and then yank at the chain, really hard. Zuko's arm was very sore from the yanking and he had a bad burn across his back where Azula had whipped him with fire.

Zuko knew that his Uncle was in the cell next to him when he started snoring. NOBODY snores as loud as General Iroh, the blue dragon of the West. There was a hole in the metal so Zuko could speak to his Uncle. (And give him his uneaten food) It turned out that Iroh had better food and drink than Zuko. Iroh got properly cooked rice and duck and he even got tea. Jasmine tea! Zuko knew that Iroh wouldn't have gotten tea or duck if Azula hadn't been trying to make him jealous. Luckily Iroh always left some for Zuko as he was given very large portions. (Well, compared to what Zuko got anyway.)

Zuko had been shivering in the puddle for around one hour when he heard Iroh whisper. "Zuko?" came the unmistakable voice. "Yes, Uncle?" Zuko says, moving closer towards the gap in the metal. "I have two blankets, both thick, and I only need one. Would you care for the other?" Says his Uncle.

"I- um- yes please Uncle." Says Zuko, hanging his head. He hated showing weakness in front of his Uncle but it was FREEZING COLD in the cell. "Thanks." He mumbled as Iroh passes the blanket through the hole. Suddenly Zuko is thrown backwards after his arm and the wool blanket drops into the puddle. "Oy, you!" Comes an angry shout from the guard at the top of the hole. "No talking! Shut your mouth, you disgrace! Don't make me yank your arm off, because I will!" And then silence again. Zuko picks up the soaking blanket. There would be no way to dry it. He couldn't hang it anywhere, the metal was too smooth. And he couldn't very well fire-bend it dry, the whole blanket would set alight! Zuko thinks for a second and then BLAM sets himself on fire for warmth. He could also evaporate the water like this. Two birds, one stone. Another sudden yank though. "Put that out RIGHT NOW!" Roars the guard above. Zuko sighs and puts out the fire. His stone was just crushed.


	7. Fire-Lord Oazi

Chapter 7: Fire Lord Ozai

Zuko awoke from a restless sleep to the sound of the ship groaning as it docked and a thud as the anchor plummeted down and buried itself in the sand. He rushed over to the hole in the metal. "Uncle!" he mutters urgently. "Uncle, we're here!"

"Wha…?" Comes Iroh's sleepy voice, then "Oh, right! Zuko! How are you?"

"Fine, Uncle." Says Zuko. "We're here! What do we do? If I have to see fa- I mean, The Fire Lord, I…"

"Zuko." Interrupts Iroh gently. "Ozai may be evil, but he is _still your father_. Nothing changes that."

"That man is no Father of mine. He is not in my life and I will not face him. I will not see him again! Never!" spits Zuko, curling himself up into a defensive ball.

"Zuko." Repeats Iroh. "I think- and regret- that my brother thinks of you as a mistake, a traitor that is not his son. But you _will_ have to face him. You _will_ have to see him again, whether you like it or not, maybe even today! But I _will_ always be there for you, and you also have no say in that."

Zuko looks up at his Uncle, into his kind eyes and mutters a word he hasn't said in a long time; "Thank you."

A note from the author: Ok, how was that for Iroh talk? Tried my best! - **_TIN_**


	8. Going to the palace

Chapter 8- Going to the palace.

'Help me!' was all Zuko could think as his foot got cut on yet _another_ stone.

He, his Uncle, the girls and ten soldiers were walking to Fire Lord Ozai's palace. Well, at least Zuko was walking. Azula, Ty-Lee and mai were riding on the backs of Fire-Komodo, a type of giant lizard that could breathe fire. Zuko's hands were chained and the chain was attached to Azula's ride's tail. Iroh was also chained but sat behind Ty- Lee. He was obviously tired but stayed awake to support Zuko.

Zuko's vision started to blur. He was so tired and dehydrated. His feet were a cut up mess from walking barefoot on the sharp stones that made a pathway from the beach all the way to the heart of the fire-nation. Earlier on, Zuko had used a bending move called magma feet, which heated his feet up to the heat of lava, melting the pointy rocks so they didn't hstab his feet. But he was soon worn out and couldn't keep it up.

"So, Zuko" says Azula. "You happy to be home?" Zuko didn't answer. His neck was burning horridly from where Azula had used her flame whip on him because he hadn't answered one of her taunting questions. "Aargh!" Zuko yells as he ducks, the whip flicking his forehead, just missing his good eye. Suddenly Azula was off her komodo and marching over to him in one swift movement, lifting his head up to look at him, her sharp nails digging into his neck. "I'm only keeping you alive because father says so." She says through clenched teeth "but you'll be a nice, well behaved prisoner or I'll ROAST you and, trust me, I won't give you a choice between barbequed and extra crispy."

And that's when they arrived at the Fire-Lord's palace.


	9. Hail the Fail- Father- Lord

Chapter 9- Hail the Fail- Father- Lord.

A note from the author: Sorry if this chapter isn't too good. I've had to re write this chapter a lot of times.

As Zuko was marched up the hall, his heart pounding uncontrollably, Ty- Lee was giving him pointers. "Kneel, don't speak unless spoken too, don't look him in the eye, say yes too everything, um …"

"I know so just shut up!" Shouts Zuko. He was a big, growing balloon of nerves, going to pop at any second. He was going to make sure he **_IGNORED_** all of the tips Ty- Lee had given him. He knew it all anyway.

Finally they reached the end of the hall. "Bad luck, Zuzu!" says Azula playfully and pushes him through the blood red curtains and into the Fire-lord's throne room.

As Zuko walks towards his father, who was sitting on his throne, a playful smile on his face. He looked like a cat playing with a mouse. A cat who was about to pounce.

"Hello, Ozai. How are you?" Says Zuko, trying to be disrespectful. He didn't bow, he wouldn't give in to his father and he would never, ever bow down, defeated, to the steely man on the throne.

"Fine." Says Ozai, playing along. "You?"

"Just peachy." Zuko gets out through gritted teeth. He looks his father right in the eye. Ozai sighs. "Why did you help the Avatar? He says. You betrayed me, your nation and even your peasant girlfriend, Mai. Why?"

"I do not serve you anymore, Ozai. You are not my father. You turned Azula evil whilst she was just a little girl. You are evil yourself. You challenged me, a thirteen year old boy, to an Agniki! You are sick! You killed Mum and now you are going to kill me for speaking my mind. I am no longer the prince of the fire-nation. Not because I have no honour, I am more honourable than YOU, but because I no longer want to serve the nation that strikes fear into others hearts, a nation of blood-shed and violence. I no longer serve you."

Zuko knows that his father is going to try to kill him for that. He heats up, just like he did with the wolf bats, to an incredible heat so hot that his handcuffs just simply… melt.

"You're right." Says Ozai "I am going to kill you. I'm going to shoot you so full of lightning you'll be shot sky-high. And then no one will go to your funeral, well, Azula probably will, but just to spit on your dead body. And then I'll personally make sure that your body is used as the mascot of the fire-nation, to show others we are not weak but strong and will not show any weakness!" Ozai gets up from his throne and clicks his fingers. "You ready to get started?"


	10. Iroh the blue dragon of the west

Chapter 10: Iroh the blue dragon of the west

A note from the author: This is the tale of how Iroh got his title. Of course, some of you may already now, from watching Avatar The Last Airbender. But this goes into the full story so I recommend you still read it even if you do know the tale. This takes place ten years before Zuko's birth. **_–TIN_**

**_Disclaimer:_** Unlike my story, I do not own this plot, (I own none of the characters in either), I have only added to it. I do not own ATLA.

"Ozai, brother, Fire-Lord, greatest man in history." Says General Iroh, not meaning a word of it. His brother, great? As if! "With, permission, It would be an honour to hunt down Yin and Shar, the blue and red spirit- dragons, who gave up immortality to teach our kin, the golden sun warriors. In your name I would like to prove that doing so was a mistake."

"Excuse-me?" Says Ozai. His lowly brother spoke in riddles and mysteries all the time. So. Con. Fusing!

"Basically." Says Iroh with a small smile. "Can I kill the last two dragons in the world in your name?"

"Oh, right, of course!" Says Ozai. "You have my full permission to hunt Yin and Shar, the two last dragons."

"Thank you." Says Iroh, bowing. He takes five steps back, bows again and walks out of the throne room.

"Hello!" calls Iroh. "Yin and Shar? Are you there? I'm a friend." The General climbs over another rock. He was looking for the two spirit dragons and, after his life-changing journey into the spirit world, he knew their home was the crystal rockolanche caverns that were deep under the great city of Omashu. Luckily, he knew Boomy, the king of Omashu and so was granted access to the caverns.

Suddenly Iroh hears a rushing noise and then finds himself face to face with a magnificent red dragon. Iroh kneels on the floor at the dragons 'mouth'. "Yin, the great red spirit god of the west. I serve you." Yin seems to consider this for a second and then it opens it's mouth wide and lets out a high pitched roar. Iroh covers his ears and then whirls around on his knees to face Shar, a beautiful blue dragon. "Shar, it is an honour to be in your presence. I serve you, oh almighty dragon of the East."

"Good." Says Shar. Iroh's mouth falls open. The dragons can speak? "But why are you here?" Yin finishes.

"Um... I would like to protect you from the fire nation so that the fire source does not become extinct. You are the last two dragons. I will say I killed you and dragon hunting will be finished. The inner flame will be safe. "

" Yes." Says Shar. "Proceed with your plan and be blessed with our fire!" says Yin.

And the dragon masters release a tornado of flames, a million colours, the flames of light. And Iroh was a hero of dragons who had been blessed with knowledge of the golden sun warriors…


	11. Join me in a death dance my son

Chapter 11- Join me in a death dance, son.

A note from the author: Wow it's really hard to think up J titles**_. –TIN_**

"Now then, Zuko." Says Ozai. "Prepare to die."

"Bring. It. On." Says Zuko through clenched teeth.

"I know your style, Zuko. Your sloppy, jerky fire-bending form. You can't win."

Ozai shoots a spurt of red fire which Zuko ducks under and then flips over, shooting fire out his feet to propel him backward. He slams into a wall and, with flaming hands, pulls a chunk of concrete loose in each hand. They set alight and, with jets of fire to propel them, Zuko flings them at his father, who has to do a face-plant to avoid them. "Enough!" he roars, fire coming out his mouth. "It's time to end this and stop playing games!"

And with that Ozai conjures lightning and, laughing manically, he flings it at Zuko. Who, smiling slightly, prepares to redirect it. As the lightning hits his arm, he feels the energy and power flowing under his heart, churning in his chi lake and then, with all his force, he flings it back out at his father…

… Who is hit with full force. "Aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!" screams the great lord of fire as the energy flows through him. He is left smoking, his skin red, but alive. "Wha.. What is this trick?"Says Ozai weakly, stumbling back to sit on his throne. He had been lucky to survive.

"No trick." Says Zuko. "New style."

"I believe in a fair fight, Zuko." Says Ozai. "And, because of a little fluke, you won. I will allow you to live, but trust me, not for long. I will duel you! I order you to fight me an Agniki, when time is right."

"Fine." Zuko spits, as he is dragged out of the throne room. "And that was called Zuko style. Learn it!"


	12. Kira's fortress

Chapter 12- Kira's fortress.

A note from the author: **_IMPORTANT!_****_ How do you renew a document and chapter!?-_****_TIN_**

Zuko didn't know how long he had been in the palace of death. He could speak with his uncle but other than that he had no contact to the outside world. The guards brought food at night whilst Zuko and Iroh were sleeping. They would wake to a bowl of rice and a bottle of liquid that they have to share between them for a day. Sometimes the bottle held cactus juice; at others they were blessed with water.

The one thing Zuko knew for certain was that he was being held in Kira's fortress; the palace of death. This hell was a prison reserved for fire-nation traitors only. Enemies of Ozai…

People who were slated to die came here. They would be left to rot or would die at the fire-lord's merciless hands. Zuko knew his fate already. He was going to die a cruel, unjust and unfair death.

This prison was worse than the boiling rock itself. The prince shares a cell with his Uncle, Iroh. Azula did actually come to… visit sometimes. She would allow herself the luxury of forcing the sweet, sickly nectar down Zuko's throat. Then she would torture him, both physically and mentally.

Zuko had already explored the small cell; he knew every inch of it. It was square, made of hard, rough rock. Both Zuko and his Uncle have one long, metal link chain attached to their necks, like collars. If the door was open, the chains would allow them to take a few steps out of it, but nothing more. There was a place in the rocky ceiling where water would drip down. It was fresh, clean water that tasted so much better than cactus juice. Iroh had simply kept the chipped mug of cactus juice he had been given (After drinking it.) and placed it under the drip. Ta- Da! Once a day the two would get a gulp of water. Fresh, clean, drinkable water…

"Zuko!" The prince is snapped out of his thoughts by his Uncle. "I am afraid to say your sister is coming." Zuko groans. The burn on his neck had just started scabbing up from last week's torture session.

A second later the door opens and shuts quickly. And Azula is inside. "Honestly, Azula. Please, I am begging you, stop attacking your brother! Hurt me, instead, just let him heal." Pleads Iroh. Zuko flinches, knowing he can't do anything to protect his Uncle as Azula burns him happily. Both Iroh and Zuko's hands, like always, were chained for the torture session. "Shut up." Azula says "You know I'm not here for you. If you speak up to me again, you filth, I will break every bone in your body and then cook you alive. There is enough flesh on your fat body to feed the other prisoners for a year! How would you like a leg Zuko? An, arm, maybe? Sorry, but you can't have is stomach. Too big. You, see Zuko, we're giving that to our favourite prisoner. Mother!"


	13. Lost In The Fire-Nation

Chapter 13: Lost in the Fire- Nation

A note from the author: That last chapter, I didn't like the ending. So here it is written again!

Chapter 12- Kira's fortress.

Zuko didn't know how long he had been in the palace of death. He could speak with his uncle but other than that he had no contact to the outside world. The guards brought food at night whilst Zuko and Iroh were sleeping. They would wake to a bowl of rice and a bottle of liquid that they have to share between them for a day. Sometimes the bottle held cactus juice; at others they were blessed with water.

The one thing Zuko knew for certain was that he was being held in Kira's fortress; the palace of death. This hell was a prison reserved for fire-nation traitors only. Enemies of Ozai…

People who were slated to die came here. They would be left to rot or would die at the fire-lord's merciless hands. Zuko knew his fate already. He was going to die a cruel, unjust and unfair death.

This prison was worse than the boiling rock itself. The prince shares a cell with his Uncle, Iroh. Azula did actually come to… 'visit' sometimes. She would allow herself the luxury of forcing the sweet, sickly nectar down Zuko's throat. Then she would torture him, both physically and mentally.

Zuko had already explored the small cell; he knew every inch of it. It was square, made of hard, rough rock. Both Zuko and his Uncle have one long, metal link chain attached to their necks, like collars. If the door was open, the chains would allow them to take a few steps out of it, but nothing more. There was a place in the rocky ceiling where water would drip down. It was fresh, clean water that tasted so much better than cactus juice. Iroh had simply kept the chipped mug of cactus juice he had been given (After drinking it.) and placed it under the drip. Ta- Da! Once a day the two would get a gulp of water. Fresh, clean, drinkable water…

"Zuko!" The prince is snapped out of his thoughts by his Uncle. "I am afraid to say your sister is coming." Zuko groans. The burn on his neck had just started scabbing up from last week's torture session.

Chapter 13

"Hurry up, Aang!" cries Sokka.

"Yeah, twinkle toes, you are so slow!"

"Sorry, guys, but I'm so tired my arrows coming off!" replies Aang, yawning.

"Why's that, Aang?" Asks a worried Katara. "Did those nightmares keep you awake again?"

"Yep, they did." The bald air-bender confirms. "How am I goanna stop Ozai when Sozin's comet is only a week an a half away? That's eleven days Katara! Oh yeah, and I forgot to mention, if I loose the whole world goes fwoosh!" To emphasize his point, Avatar Aang shoots a weak flame out of his hands.

"I just wish there was a time where we could strike the fire-nation when they are really weak, as if the sun is covered up or something." Says Sokka thoughtfully.

"Yeah, boomerang boy, there are some birds flying by, I can see that they are holding a massive cloth! If we ask nicely, they can cover up the sun for us and then the fire- nation won't have any bending!" Cries Toph, the blind earth- bender.

"Really?" Says Sokka "Where, whe- do you have to do that?"

"Yes, yes I do."

"Shush up, you two! Let's not talk about taking down the fire-nation whilst we're _lost_ in it!"

"Hey, guys, check this out!" Calls Aang. The Gaang hurries over to see.

"Big news!" cries the Fire- Times newsreader "Flaming hot news! Just for you! The traitor Prince, Zuko, has been captured, along with his Uncle, after helping the Avatar! He is being held in Kira's fortress and is slated to death at the hands of Fire- Lord Ozai!"

*******0000000000000000000000*********

A note from the author: Suspense! Love it!- TIN


	14. My life really sucks

Chapter 14: My life really sucks

"Hold still, Zuko!" commands Iroh, exasperated at his nephews struggling. He was trying to wash Zuko's wounds with cactus juice, but all the wriggling was making that impossible.

"I can't help it! OW!" shouts the prince as the rag is dragged through his infected burn, taking the puss and mud with it.

"I told you so. You should sleep on top of something to stop the dirt getting in."

"Uncle." Says Zuko through gritted teeth. " 'I told you so' has a brother. He's called **_SHUT THE HELL UP!" _**

"No need to shout, nephew!" Says Iroh, surprised.

"Sorry, Uncle." Zuko looks down. "It's just… I'm scared. I don't want to face him… I don't want to die."


	15. Nothing of the sun

Chapter 15: Nothing of the sun…

Aang and the Gaang are surrounded by at least fifty Fire-Nation soldiers. They are surley about to die.

"Toph." Whispers Sokka into the earth-benders ear. "I love you."

Toph rolls her un-seeing eyes. "Now he tells me…" she mutters.

And suddenly the world goes black…

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

A cloud had drifted across the sky… A cloud had drifted across the sun… And, for twenty-two point four seconds the world was dark.

Oh, yeah! And benders lost their fire-bending too…

"Prepare to be incinerated!" Yells Chang-Lee of the Fire-Nation army. "Yah!" And he thrusts his hands forward and; … nothing. (:

But, annoyingly, out comes some fire nation tramp. He grabs Aang from the back. "I got 'im!" He yells victoriously. "I got de Avata'!"

"Flameo, man!" Yells an young, excited guard. He throws a net around a confused Avatar Aang. Just then, the sun comes out from behind the clouds. "Scram!" Yells Chang-Lee, shooting a massive gust of fire at Sokka. Sokka's billowing tunic catches fire and Katara puts it out just in time. But all of Sokka's skin is still red and raw. Sokka himself is twitching and writhing about in agony on the floor.

"Go!" yells Aang, not trying to fight as he is dragged away by the soldiers, leaving a trail of blood as his calf is scraped across the ground.

Katara looks at her brother, then his boyfriend, and sighs. "We will come back!" She yells. Then she scoops Sokka up, gloves of healing water on her palms, so she does not touch the burns but heals them, and runs toward their mountain home and the setting sun.

Will Sokka be okay?

What did the cloud-sun thing mean?

**_Will Aang be alright?_**


	16. One and Unity

Chapter 16: One and unity

Aang crossed his legs. Cleared his mind. He could do it now. He could unlock his cosmic chakra because he had already let her go. He had not ripped the net apart in a thousand flames, like he could, when he saw the torn and anguished look on Katara's face. But he knew they wanted him. Now theyhad him, the others were no longer in danger. Aaapa, Momo, Toph, Haru, Katara, GranGran, The Cabbage Seller, Boomy, Master Paku, John- John,The Nomads, Jet, Smellerby, Tiny, The Boulder, Hamma, The Sandbenders, Lin and all the others he had met were safe. That was his duty. And he had fulfilled it.

Mostly.

But one more soul needed to be saved.

Prince Zuko's.

And he was in the cell next to his.

The cell fills with a million flames, a thousand colours sparkling in the night. Kira's fortress shakes, a great tremor rippling through it. A gale-force wind rips through the hallways. And moisture goes from dripping down the earth walls to flooding through the cells. Supplying the prisoners with fresh, clean water. Avatar Aang had entered and mastered the Avatar state.

"Uncle!" Cries Zuko. "Water! Fresh water! How is this happening?" Iroh didn't answer; he was already gulping down the liquid. Zuko followed suit immediately.

Aang smiles to himself. The Avatar state could help. But he might not need it. Aang puts his scared hands to the wall (Azula had taken great pleasure of taking him to 'the gym.' ) and with a quick punch, the wall falls away to reveal Iroh and Zuko, heads still on the floor, gulping water, in worse a state than he had ever imagined…

TO BE CONTINUED…

Will Zuko escape with Aang and Iroh?

Where will they go?

**_Who will they find?_**

….IN THE NEXT CHAPTER


End file.
